Chess
by Jiia-chan
Summary: Link is ranting. Again. Now with more Shonen goodness! Done as a series of letters, documenting the relationship of our two favourite angstridden pretty boys. THIS IS NOW AU, AS IN SHEIK IS A MAN! Warning to all you Sheikhaters out there! Shink
1. Chapter 1

Chess

Yes... My little rant. Link's POV, just him... talking. More of a thought bubble than a story. Still, I think it's pretty good. Based on some poetry some guy did that I can't remember. I don't own Zelda. Or that random poetry that isn't even in the story. Or anything. Read on.

You told me something once, I forget when. I'm not sure if it even happened. Who knows, this part of the river is so twisted, you could have told me a thousand times. You said that I shall never find peace. I shall wander the worlds till the ends of my days, never able to stop until I can walk no longer. I would go from place to place, time to time, dream to the waking world, defeating the evil that somehow managed to wrap its greedy paws around the lives of the innocent. That was to be my sacrifice. I was to give up my happiness so that others might feel joy. I was to put myself in danger so others would feel safe. I was to feel the pain of loneliness so that others might feel love. I was to be a hero.

I didn't believe you then. You said the worlds in anger, and I believed that perhaps, they had nothing to do with your frightening ability to see past the bend. I thought I could, would find happiness at the end of this all. After all, who in all the worlds deserved it more than me? I gave everything for a land I had never known.

You were right. I thought I could finally leave the endless war, finally see you, find you, love you like I had wanted to love you but couldn't. I thought that the two of us could find peace. It was the thought that gave me the strength to make it through all the horrors of my world. It gave me the strength to kill. But I had fallen in love with an illusion. A farce, created by the unintentionally cruel masters who made me a pawn, a great inside joke that must have had all the creatures of heaven laughing for eons. I lost my faith in the gods when the illusion fell.

I completed my destiny. I did what the chess masters had planned. I thought I was finished with the cruel world. I thought I could live in peace, if alone. But you were right. There was still evil in the universe, and I was the only one with the courage- or rather, without fear- enough to defeat it. No one else would stand.

I have had enough, my illusion. I am so tired. I have been fighting for eternity, and I am tired. I ask only for peace. Yet already I feel another evil calling to me. It will never end.

This time, the people will have to find their own courage. They will have to find the strength to stand against this new evil. I will no longer play this game. I will no longer be the hero. I will find my peace, even though I have to depart this realm to do it. I cannot be a hero in the shadow of the grave. Goodbye, my lovely illusion. Perhaps we shall meet again, in the eternal dream of that final rest. Till then, I love you.

Link


	2. Chapter 2

I know, I know. I said this was gonna be a one shot. But I had INSPIRATION! I read Correspondence, by Aurora-Kayd (Amazing Fanfic, all must read), which is all in the format of letters, which got me thinking about letters, and how Chess is basically a suicide note, which is a letter, which got me thinking about a great deal of other stuff, which lead me to start writing letters from the POV from other characters, which FAILED, except the one from Sheik, which was pretty cool. So I wrote it over and made it fit more with some other stuff I had in my brain. Of course, I then had to write the response, and then the response to that, and then I ended up with a huge long series of letters of subtly decreasing length, all written during one afternoon with Sheik's theme on repeat. Forgive me, oh mighty reviewers, for any anything that might bother you. These haven't been beta'd, or read over, or even really thought about.

But I'm rambling. So here you go, all you ravenous little fans. Chess, number two! (Aha! Line worked!)

* * *

Dear Link, 

I

You

I do not quite know how to begin. I have never written a letter before. It is quite strange, trying to put one's thoughts onto paper. Especially when one's thoughts are as evasive as a Hylian loach. To be quite frank, I'm not sure what to say. I'm not sure what I have to tell you. I'm not sure if I have anything to tell you at all. But of course I do, I'm writing the bloody letter, aren't I?

This is so confusing.

Alright, let's start again.

Dear Link,

This is Sheik. I am writing you a letter because Impa told me it would help get my thoughts in order. Although why it would help escapes me entirely. In any case.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been more useful. It feels so wrong, to stand there watching from so far away while you're risking your life for us all. It feels so selfish to stand by and do nothing. I should be in there with you, killing monsters and solving puzzles and making DAMN sure you don't kick the bucket.

Sorry. That's insensitive and rude. But that's just the way I am. I can't get an original word out of my mouth without offending someone. Hence the corny verse they had me spout. Can't screw up if I'm reading a script, can I? I'm not sure what the all powerful they were so afraid I'd say. It's not like a couple of ill-advised quips would turn you from your destiny. If that were true, they'd never have sent you that annoying little whatever she is. Fairy. Whatever. Thank you very much, Miss 'Reading Over My Shoulder'.

Ha ha! Freedom! Made Impa leave! Mwahahaha.

And now I'm bored. Link. Link Link Link. What kind of a name is Link, anyways? But then again, who am I to talk? Sheik of the Sheikah. Our parents are strange, my green friend.

That made me so happy, you know. When you said we were friends. It was the very first time I'd ever had a friend. My whole life was spent preparing me to protect Zelda. The only kid my age I ever even saw was her. You've met her. You know she is. You try making friends with a girl who won't shut up long enough to breathe. Especially one who thinks you're her very own personal slave. 'Pick up this, go get that', day in and day out for ten years! At least I could escape to my training. And Impa, that damn traitor, always telling her exactly when I was supposed to leave.

But back then, she wasn't… Back then she was sane. Egotistical, hyper active, overly girly, yes, but lacking in any real mental disorder. Now I'm not so sure. She looked at me the other day and laughed, like she knew something I didn't, something that would be undoubtedly unpleasant for me, but highly amusing for her. Like I was an enemy, and she knew I was going to die. Not pleasant, let me tell you. She makes me uncomfortable. Impa too, not that she'd ever say. There's something not quite right inside that girl's brain.

But once again, who am I to talk?

And now you're going to know what that means, aren't you?

Damn. Oh well. I'll just not send it. No harm, no foul.

But I think… There is something wrong with me. There has to be. What goes on in my head… It's not normal. It's not how I'm supposed to be. I'm looking at the script but saying the wrong words.

I'm supposed to watch, guide, lead. I'm supposed to be the mysterious shadow guiding you on your quest. I take you where you need to go and leave you there, with nothing more than an echo and a memory in my wake. I'm not supposed… to care.

I love you, Link. I mean, I think I do. I've never felt... It never felt normal with you, Link. It didn't seem right that the gaze of a friend would make me blush, that their touch would give me shivers, that the thought of them would keep me up late into the night, tossing and turning and…

I'm sorry, Link. I shouldn't feel this way. I shouldn't want you, but I do. I'm sorry.

Can you ever forgive me, Link?

Hey, I do feel better. Imagine that. The old battle-axe was right. I'm going to go see what Zelda's screeching about now, and then I'm going to rip this up into tiny little pieces and then I'm going to burn them and then I'm going to get Saria to help me banish the ashes to the sacred realm. Because of course I can't send it to you, that would be unforgivable. You can never know.

Din damn it, Zelda is annoying. Bloody hell in a hand basket. 'Coming, Princess!' Goddess, I'm such a chump.

Bye, Link-who-will-never-read-this-ever.

Sheik.

P.S.

Dear Link; I found this letter on my nephew's desk. I thought it might interest you.

'Miss Reading Over My Shoulder'.


	3. Chapter 3

Chess 3 Revamped

Dear Sheik,

I got your letter. The one you said you'd never send. Yeah, apparently Impa has it in for you. She sure is quick for a old lady.

I've never written a letter before either. It's kind of strange, I admit. Holding a pen is so different from holding a sword. I'm sure my spelling is horrible t

Why do you think I'd need to forgive you, you idiot!?!?!?! There's nothing to forgive!!!! I mean, do you have ANY idea how it made me feel when… I almost passed out! Navi was highly concerned. Annoying little whatever she is… Heh. ARGH! Distraction! The point is, I

The point is, I

The point…

ARGH! Useless. Hand… all… quivery…

Sheik. Sheik of the Sheikah. Mr. Our Parents Are Odd.

I… love you too.

It doesn't make sense, right? I see you, what, once every couple of months? And then you just talk kinda funny and play your little harp thing and disappear into thin air. Not much of a basis for a relationship. But… You watch me. I can feel you watching me, all the time. Going into temples, coming out… Camping in Hyrule field. I know you're there, all the time, looking out for me. Watching my back. I've never had anyone do that before. I mean, Navi's ok, as annoying as she is, but having Tinkerbell keeping an eye out doesn't exactly make me feel secure, you know? Having the Sage Medallions around has helped a little, but that's just more confidence in my own abilities. The sages wouldn't step in to help me if I was about to 'kick the bucket'.

Despite everything you said in your letter, I think you would. Even if you weren't allowed to, you would.

That's why it's always you in my dreams. In my nightmares, when the darkness almost have me, it's always you who saves me. In my good dreams, when I've saved the day and someone comes out to finally, finally thank me for everything I've done, it's always you. And in my other dreams, the dreams I tell Navi are nightmares, it's always, always you.

I love you, Sheik. Even though I shouldn't.

And you love me, even though you shouldn't.

And even though it shouldn't be, it is.

It makes me so happy I want to cry.

Oh Din, I can't do this. I can't fight Ganondorf, not any more. If I fight Ganondorf, I'm gonna die. We all know it. Even if I survive the fight. There is no place for me in a Hyrule at peace. No place for any of us. We'll just fade until we're not there anymore.

I don't want that to happen, Sheik. I don't want to die. I want to live, with you, forever. What's so bad about Ganondorf, anyways? To my knowledge, he hasn't tried to kill anyone but me, and that's largely because I'm trying to kill him. And besides, I can still try and fight him, keep his monsters from causing any more trouble. And even if I can't, we can just leave, go somewhere, anywhere, just you and me.

We're allowed. We have to be allowed. It wouldn't be fair otherwise.

Please, Goddesses, give us this. Only this, and I would be content. Only this, please.

I want to talk to you, Sheik. I want to see you. I want to tell you with my own lips that I love you. Meet me somewhere, please?

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Link.


	4. Chapter 4

Chess 4 Revamped

Dear Link,

There has appeared to be some understanding. What is this letter I supposedly wrote to you? I cannot recall writing such a letter. Impa, my aunt, cannot remember this letter either. Are you certain it was from me? Perhaps it was from one of your many fans, and you simply mistook.

As for the feelings I supposedly have for you, I can assure you that they do not, nor ever have, existed. I have no interest in you outside of your capacity of Hero of Time.

As for the feelings you have expressed for me, I would appreciate it if you never mentioned them again. They are undoubtably a passing phase, a reaction to the stressful circumstances you are under. They should fade and die shortly. It would do no one any good for you to act on these youthful whims. Your quest should be first and foremost in your mind, not some childish infatuation.

As for your talk of abandoning this quest in favour of a life with me, the Princess, Impa and myself all believe it best that we all pretend like it never happened. We are willing to forgive such talk, at least this once. You are tired and frustrated. We understand. It has been suggested that you take a couple days off to rest and regroup your thoughts. An agent of the royal family will be dispatched to your location. They will take you to one of the family's private homes, where you will be able to recuperate in peace.

For the sake of everyone involved, do not speak of these matters again.

Long Live the Princess,

Sheik of the Sheikah, Servant of the Royal Family.


	5. Chapter 5

Chess 5 (Letter)

Sheik,

What's going on? What happened to you? I know you wrote both letters, the handwriting's the same. Could you really have forgotten everything? I know Zelda has the power to change people's memories, but I didn't think she could change people's feelings.

Please tell me what's going on! The agent you told me about showed up at my house and almost scared the other Kokiri half to death! He looked more like a monster than a person, under all that armour. He dragged me off to the far side of Lake Hylia without a word. Now I'm stuck here in this run down old mansion with nothing to do and nowhere to go. They've got a guard on me constantly. I had to sneak away to write this!

I don't want to hurt anyone, but I need to get out of here. Call them off, please. Let me get back to my mission. Even if you don't feel the same way you did, even if you don't remember, at least let me do what I was meant to do! Don't make me sit here waiting for the world to explode!

Please, Sheik, just… talk to me. Write me back, at the very least. Please.

Link.


	6. Chapter 6

Chess 6

Dear Link,

Please refrain from writing to me in the future. Everything is under control. You needn't worry about a thing. Please do not resist us. We wish only for your well being. We are not holding you prisoner. We just want you to rest.

Leave everything to us.

Long Live the Princess,

Sheik of the Sheikah, Servant of the Royal Family.

Link

Get out of there as soon as you can. They're just holding you there until Zelda can arrive to wipe your mind like they did to my nephew. Yes, your suspicions were correct. They took away his mind and replaced it with what I suspect is simply a copy of Zelda's. They killed him, Link, killed him to protect their wonderful land. And I helped them. Din rue the day I spoke my vows.

I will try and help you as best as I can, Link. Stay alive until I get to you.

Impa


	7. Chapter 7

Chess 7

Impa,

Your nephew is dead. I mean, really dead. I watched him die. Idiot that I am, I assumed you would be in the Temple of Time, just like he was when I first met him. He was there again, just like the first time, only it wasn't him, it was someone else, I could see it in his eyes. It was someone else.

But he was trying to make me think that it wasn't, that it was him, just the way he had always been, just the same as always. But I didn't believe him. And then he said he had a secret to tell me, a secret that no one could ever know. Except I already knew. He said he was Zelda, that he always had been, that he had been from the very beginning, and then there was light and the smell of burning and all that was left of him was ashes on the floor. And he was dead and gone and Zelda was there trying to tell me that he wasn't, that he'd been her the whole time, but there they were, the ashes on the ground she thought I didn't see.

She killed him, Impa. First she killed his mind and then she killed his soul. And now she's going to kill me. Once I've served her purpose, she's going to do the same to me as she did to him. I'm going to die for her, whether I want to or not.

It's what I want, I think. I want to forget. If I can forget, maybe I can believe that what I'm doing is right and good. If I forget, maybe it won't hurt any more.

I wish I had been able to say goodbye to him. I wish I could have been able to say to him the things I wanted to say. I wish we could have shared something besides our destiny.

Thank you for trying to help us, Impa.

Long live the princess,

Link, hero of time.


	8. Chapter 8

Chess 8

You told me something once, I forget when. You could have told me a thousand times, and I would never know. You said I would never have peace.

And you were right?

How could I have peace, in this world or the next? I am doomed, for all eternity, to love you. To love an illusion, someone who exists only in my mind and in my heart and in my memory. Someone I can never touch, someone I can never see. Someone 'as elusive as a Hyrule loach'.

But I caught a loach once, didn't I tell you? So maybe their not as elusive as we thought. Maybe I can catch you one day. If I do, I can tell you now, I will never let you go. No matter what.

But it does no good to sit around and mope and wonder and regret loving you. It can't be helped.

So I'll put this letter in with all the others, that strange record of events spanning over who knows how many timelines. We are in that box, you and me. Everything that ever mattered, sitting right there under my bed. I'm so glad I found it. If I hadn't, I would never have remembered, and I would have gone on thinking that you weren't real. I would undoubtedly have gone through with my dark plan. I would have been dead.

So you did end up saving me after all, didn't you? You were with me when I really need you, even if I didn't know it. You were watching out for me, even after you became only an illusion. You watch over me still. So let me say now what I never got the chance to say to your face.

I love you.

I will always love you.

Only you.

Always you.

Thank you, Sheik. Rest in peace, my lovely illusion. I'll join you there some other day. Until then, farewell. After all, I still have people to save.

Link.

* * *

Mwahaha. And thus ends the legacy of an afternoon on chocolate. But not quite yet! I still have the original fics to post. One is the orginal Sheik letter, which I like mostly because of the ending, and the Zelda letter, which I like because it is Zelda inadvertantly bashing herself, and I do so believe I have the Ganon letter, which is highly interesting, and is pretty much my theory of what happened to him. So there. I'm posting them, whether you like it or not. Nya. Review please! I like reviews. Reviews make me happy. They give me inspiration! And you want me to be inspired, don't you? Ha ha ha. Anyways... Onwards, always onwards! 


	9. Sheik's Letter

Chess 2

To watch. That was my role, from the very beginning. I stood atop my lofty keep, watching every little thing that went on in your life, making sure you were everything you needed to be. Making sure you never swayed from your destiny. Make sure you never had any life other than the ones our tyrannical goddesses deemed you have. I watched you, and I wept. Underneath the damnable mask the Princess had me wear, I wept.

Did you weep for me, Love? Did you cry for your anguished protector, your tormented guardian angel? Did you cry for the one who watched you stumble out of temple after temple, covered in wounds, and knew they were their fault? My fault? I know you did not.

I was watching.

I lit the torches for you, you know. After that first temple, after I was forced to watch you stumbling about in the darkness, I would get myself just ahead of you and light the torches. It was difficult, I admit, not to mention dangerous. A couple throwing knives and some spandex don't do much to protect you from a raving horde of stalfos. It was all I could manage to get the flame in the braziers. And some torches I couldn't light, of course. They were part of your quest. God forbid I do part of your quest for you.

It makes me so angry. I wanted to help you so badly. I wanted to rush to your aid, teleport you to somewhere safe where you… and, I so desperately wished, me… could just be ourselves, without the will of the goddesses pressing down upon us. I wanted to save you. Save the one who saves us all.

But I can't.

Couldn't.

Past tense. Because I can, now. I've discovered something, love. A portal, deep in the woods, so deep no one has ever gone there. No one but me. It leads to another world, another place entirely, where Ganondorf doesn't exist, where everything is at peace. A place where the two of us can go. A place where the goddesses cannot follow.

Come with me, Link! Follow me there, to that wonderful place! Come with me, so we can finally be together, in peace. 'Screw them all', as your colourful Goron friend would say. Let yourself engage in a little selfishness for once. You've done enough for this land. You've awakened the sages, cleared the temples. Let the sages do their own work for a change and kill Ganondorf themselves. Pass your sword on to Princess Zelda. She could use the exercise.

Please, Link. I don't care how you do it. Just leave. If you don't want to come with me, that's fine. Just leave. Don't fight Ganondorf. Please. I've been watching, Link. I've seen what he is capable of. I know exactly what he's going to do to you.

Don't go to him.

Please.

Sheik

Zelda scowled, ripping the letter up into a million tiny pieces.

How dare he try to meddle in destiny? The Sheikah was undeserving of place in history the Goddesses had given him. If he was unwilling to play his role, then he would be cut from the cast.

Fate had no use for pawns with will.

"Impa!" She shouted, knowing the sage would undoubtedly come. "Find me an illusion spell! There's a certain Sheikah I need to impersonate."


	10. Zelda's Letter

Chess 3

Everything I ever did was for Hyrule. Everything. Those two think they had it rough? They never had to climb down a mountain of rubble in six inch heels. I could have gladly traded places with either one of them. Oh, to take the place of Sheik, able to come and go at will, to disappear without a trace, to simply vanish and go wherever one wishes to go. Not to mention the free tickets to the 24/7 Hero of Time marathon. Who wouldn't give anything to see Link's most private moments? And if I were Link… That boy has no idea how good he has it. He never has to worry about being ladylike or have proper manners. He's the country bumpkin Hero of Time! It's practically expected that he be rude and obnoxious! And besides, he's alone most of the time anyways. He doesn't have the endless stream of people watching him, always watching him. Not that he's conscious of anyways.

But not me, oh no, never me. The Princess must be watched at all times, because she's helpless, you know. A helpless little girl who can't protect herself and needs a minstrel and a bloody FAIRY to do her work for her. But they forget. I've been alone my whole life. All alone amidst a sea of people. Courtiers, guards, entertainers, servants… Always the constant hustle and bustle, always the telling me, go this way, go that way, do this, do that. I had to learn survival skills the likes of which a simple warrior could never understand. I had to be clever, wise, always alert, always thinking on step ahead of the game, or it was all over. I had to learn to use people or perish.

That's what they simply don't understand. I'm not an evil person. I serve the Goddesses, without question, without hesitation. I serve their will unwaveringly. I am exactly how the Goddesses want me to be. Why can't the other two just accept that? They are as bound as I am. Why must they constantly reject the natures laid out for them?

Yes, perhaps, when I was small and stupid, I hated my fate. It made me angry that I must relinquish my freedom for a life as a pampered princes, a porcelain doll only able affect the world around them in the most superficial of ways. It bothered me that I would have to play the untainted maiden when all I wanted to do was bash that bastard's head in. But I got over it. I accepted my fate. It would have been so much easier if the others could just do the same.

Then I wouldn't have had to kill them.

Sheik was the most satisfying. After the dagger left his back, I knew that I would finally be able to DO something. I would take action against the evil hell-spawn of the Gerudo and make my mark on history. Wearing the Sheikah's clothes was the most amazing thing I have ever felt. It's astonishing how freely one can move when not impeded by six tonnes of fabric. Seeing Link was a definite perk as well.

But of course, the Goddesses wouldn't let it last. They had to go and ruin my party. Stupid Ganondorf. I was having so much fun, too!

Argh… Impa's calling me again. Something about rabid poes invading the cellar again. Why can't she deal with it herself, for Din's sake??!?!!

Zelda


	11. Ganon's Letter

Chess 4

When you are floating midst an endless sea of blinding white light, with no form of anything anywhere near you within any conceivable distance, you have a lot of time with which to think.

With which to plot.

With which to regret.

I said I hated him, that last time. Damn kid. I honestly thought I hated him. That it was all his fault. All his fault that I got suckered into this blasted mess. But he had even less of a choice than I did. He was born into his destiny, right from the very beginning. The goddesses were after him from his very conception. I had thirty years without their demon taint.

But then, you don't know the story, do you?

Ok then. I have nothing but time.

I was the King of the Gerudo. The only male in an entire city of females. Needless to say, I was well loved. It came as no real surprise to me that a Goddess would want a piece for herself. Damn my ego.

She came down in a bright, fiery ball of light, scorching away what little water we had managed to squeeze from the desert's grip. Anything wood caught instantly. Fabric tumbled off of flesh in flaming tatters. And yet, our flesh wasn't touched at all.

She reached out to me with flaming arms. And she made a promise. A promise I could never forget.

_Far to the east lies a prosperous land, a land where water runs clean through great channels in the earth, where it falls from the very sky, where it oozes from the very pores of the earth. Far to the east, there lies a land where food is as easy to find as sand, where a meal can be pulled from fresh earth in just a single year. It is a land of ease and prosperity._

_And it can be yours._

_If you yield to my will, it will all be yours._

And I felt the thirst burning at the back of my throat, and felt the hunger gnawing at my stomach, and knew the others all felt the same. Likely they felt worse. I was King, and they were subjects.

And then Din showed me this land, and I saw that it was green, in all places, and I cried.

That was the day I began my quest for this Promised Land. That was the day I sold my soul to a Goddess and began to build a vast army of Her creatures. That was the day I became 'evil'.

And now, I float endlessly in a vast, empty void. I thirst like I have never thirst before, but there is no water, not even the sandy grit dug up from the desert wells. I hunger like I have never eaten at all, to the point that I would seriously consider eating my own flesh to sate it. But alas, I cannot move. But alas, I cannot sleep. But alas, I cannot die.

I don't hate him any longer, nor do I hate the princess, for all she has done to wrong me.

Now, I know where my hate is truly directed.

At the cruel, merciless, unforgiving Goddesses, who gave us a world filled with nothing but pain.

Damn you.

Damn you all.


End file.
